| Xanthomelanodes | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Tachinidae |
| Subfamily: | Phasiinae |
| Tribe: | Gymnosomatini |
| Genus: | Xanthomelanodes Townsend, 1892 [1] |
| Type species | |
| Xanthomelana gracilentus | |
| Synonyms | |
Xanthomelanodes is a genus of parasitoid flies in the family Tachinidae,comprising 13 described species. [4] Like all members of the subfamily Phasiinae, the larvae are endoparasitoids of true bugs (Heteroptera), developing inside their hosts and ultimately killing them. [5]
The tribe Gymnosomatini, to which Xanthomelanodes belongs, comprises flies specialised as parasitoids of true bugs in the order Hemiptera, particularly Heteroptera. [6]
The genus name Xanthomelana Wulp, 1892, listed as a synonym, was the original name under which the type species was described; Xanthomelanodes was erected by Townsend in 1892 as a replacement name, as Xanthomelana had already been used elsewhere. [7]